Citizenship Abroad to Avoid Paying Taxes...

[Nightwish]

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what does the US have on canada, australlia, n.zealand, singapore, japan, malayasia, brunei, half a dozen rich middle eastern countries, EU -- besides more crime, baptists, and obese women?


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This is one of the most retarded things I have ever read.

[KaneKungFu123]

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what does the US have on canada, australlia, n.zealand, singapore, japan, malayasia, brunei, half a dozen rich middle eastern countries, EU -- besides more crime, baptists, and obese women?


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This is one of the most retarded things I have ever read.

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Are you an obese baptist?

[KaneKungFu123]

when i was in highschool everyone would wear our school colors on football gamedays because they were a huge fan of our football team, but if their house was a few blocks down then they'd be wearing different colors and routing for a different football team at a different school.

lets say that texas didnt charge a tax on gambling, yet florida did. would i be a sean penn communist for wanting to live in texas instead of florida?

the usa is a country-state. amazingly, there are other country states around the planet earth. does it make me a bad person or a sean penn communist for believing that a different country-state may better fit my desires?

if sean penn wants to burn his passport, what does it matter to you? why do you care?

again, answer me this: IF I DONT LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES, WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO PAY TAXES TO THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT?

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Kwai-Chang Kane - like your name-sake you should give up all your worldly possessions and walk the earth. Your first stop should be France, they would embrace your infinite wisdom and make you a national hero. Maybe you and Sean Penn can get together and burn your passports together.

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[fnord_too]

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again, answer me this: IF I DONT LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES, WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO PAY TAXES TO THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT?



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Well, until you change citizenship, to avoid the penalties. (The US is weird, too, about what flies in this regards. Make sure you state your reasons for changing citizenship is other than avoiding taxes, or they will still demand them I think.)

The only other real reasons I can think of are:

When a government invests money in its people, it suffers an up front cost before they become productive. That is, one could argue that you are paying them back for the environment they provided you to grow up in. (This is not quite as BS as it sounds. Sure there are other coutries with comprable amenities, or better ones even, but most of the people in the world are born into worse environments.)

And the real reason... to maintain the option of US citizenship. Even though you may not think it is worth anything, a lot of people (non US citizens) do. Maybe they are onto something. At any rate, 5 or 10 years down the road you may decide that you do want it, and it won't be easy to get back if you ditch it now.

AFAIK, most of the place I would want to raise a family have high tax rates. I certainly would want my tax money going to the country I was living in, though. (Immediately, that is. If it is used for foreign aid to ease the hellish conditions in other parts of the world I have no problem with that.)

Whatever you do, my sincere advice is to plan out your life to the best of your ability before acting. Some good starting questions are:
<ul type="square">[*]Do I want to have children?[*]Where do I want to live (raise my family)?[*]What do I want to accomplish in life?[*]What is my plan for financial security? (i.e. Do I want to play poker for my entire life? Is that even viable?)[*]What are the costs, direct and implied, of pursuing a foreign citizenship?[*]What is the timeline for changing citizenship?[/list]
This is a life decision. Think hard about the details before you make it. (I am NOT advocating switching or not switching, just due dilligence before deciding on a course of action.)

[KaneKungFu123]

Thanks for taking the time to write this out for me, I really appreciate it.

Im going to have to give all of this some serious thought. With the exception of marriage, it appears highly difficult to obtain citizenship in another first world country.

[MrMon]

There are few places in the world that have first class living conditions and low taxes. The U.S. is about the best combination there is. (There is a reason people want to come here, even from other affluent countries.) Most of the countries on your list have some serious downside if they don't have high taxes. The Middle East? Unless you plan on becoming Muslim, I wouldn't advise it. Japan? You think things are expensive here, try Japan. Not to mention you will NEVER be accepted there. Monaco would be worth a shot if you had major bucks, but you haven't got it yet. Channel Islands would work, but I doubt you can qualify. Plus, they're freakin' tiny islands. Australia, New Zealand, and Canada are all possibilities, but have higher taxes.

However, that's not to say you shouldn't try and lower your taxes even further. If you have the income you claim to, get some serious tax advice on how to avoid taxes now. There are lots of ways to do it. Moving to a zero income tax state such as Texas, Florida, Nevada or New Hampshire would be a start. (Lowest total tax burdens are Alaska, New Hampshire, Delaware, Tennessee, and Alabama.) Buy a house would be next. Fund every retirement plan you can think of, and as someone who is self-employed, you've got some pretty high limits. Buy a business, self-incorporate, there are a million ways to shelter income.

Hire a professional. Good luck.

[FatTony21]

Give Croatia a look. You can get permanent residency permit for having a boat docked there. If you file as a professional gambler, you can exclude up to $80,000 of income per year, so long as you stay outside the US for at least 330 days of a 360 day period. Combine that with other deductions, and you'll pay little to no federal income tax (although you will still pay social security). You won't have to give up US citizenship, in case you do change your mind one day and decide to go back. Another option is going to an EU country that borders a non-EU country (Slovenia and Hungary for example, bordering Croatia and Romania) and traveling to the non-EU country for at least 1 day every 90 days. As a US citizen, you can stay in an EU country for 90 days visa free, and when you cross into the non-EU country and return, you get another 90 days (that's not how the law is technically supposed to work, but it's reality of how it's enforced).

If you really think you'd be happy living outside of the US, then you should do it (although I'd recommend doing it for reasons other than income tax deductions). If you do want to travel, and don't have your heart set on visiting Cuba, then a US passport will get you into more countries hassle free than just about any other.

FWIW, I've been living in Europe for the last 2 years, the last 4 months in Hungary as a professional gambler. It's been a great experience, probably the best of my life so far. That said, for a variety of reasons, I've decided to move back to the US next month. I once looked into non-US citizenship to avoid taxes on gambing, and I'm glad I didn't burn any bridges.

[KaneKungFu123]

"If you file as a professional gambler, you can exclude up to $80,000 of income per year, so long as you stay outside the US for at least 330 days of a 360 day period."

have you done this?

the irs rules clearly show this isnt allowed!

[yvesaint]

Everyone who is attacking KKF for wanting to leave the US - shut up. This thread is not about whether or not KKF's beliefs are right. This thread is KKF asking us how he can change his citizenship to another country. So please, spare the 'people like you make me puke comments'.

KKF, I think if you're going to choose a country, the UK would be the best. Same language, modern, well-developed, and no taxes on gambling, whether you're a pro or not.

[NLSoldier]

You keep talking about how you dont even live in the US right now. Just out of curiousity, where do you live?